welcome to "nhk world newsline." . officials are expected to equip the forces with an aircraft that has the functions of a plane and helicopter. ministry sources say the aircraft is among those under consideration. u.s. forces deported the plane this year. ospreys can fly twice as fast as

the helicopter and four times as far before they need to refuel and they can transport three times the weight. the deployment of the osprey sparked protest in okinawa and elsewhere because of concerns about its safety record. ministry sources say they will consider public opinion and the cost of introducing the planes. japanese peacekeepers in the golan heights have begun to return home as their 16-yir-long mission nears its end. the first group of 33 members of the self-defense forces arrived at narita airport in tokyo on monday. government officials decided earlier this month to recall the peacekeepers earlier than planned. securing their safety had become difficult because of the civil war in syria. defense ministry officials say the remaining 14 members will wrap up their mission by mid-january. japan first sent sdf personnel to the golan heights in 1996 as part of a united nations mission to monitor the cease-fire between syria and israel.

members have been transporting supplies and providing logistic support. a truck rammed into a bus in pakistan on sunday. police suspect it was an act of sec say sectarian violence. the bus burst into flames, killing at least 19 people. 25 people were hurt and are being treated in the hospital. police say the truck was loaded with explosives. witnesses say its driver appeared to have targeted the bus. shiite muslims were headed to a pilgrimage. new york human base watch says attacks on minority shias are on the rise in pakistan. more than 300 shias have been killed in 2012. venezuelan president chavez has suffered more complications from cancer surgery. the country's vice president suggested the situation does not allow for optimism.

the announcement came ahead of a presidential inauguration ceremony for chavez's fourth term on january 10th. the vice president said the new complications follow a respiratory infection that surfaced after the surgery he had in december in cuba. mudora appeared on state-run tv with chavez's daughter and says his health continues to be delicate. there's increasing speculation that the inauguration ceremony in january may have to be postponed. opposition parties are demanding a new presidential election to be held should chavez failed to be sworn in on such a date. such a delay suggests he is not capable of carrying out his duties. the leader of china's communist party game into office promising to narrow the gap

between rich and poor. he wants to lift millions of people out of poverty. xi is expected to take over from president hu jintao in march. xinhua television reported xi squatted with villagers in their homes over the weekend and held their homes. he reportedly asked them whether they had warm blankets and enough coal for heating. the vice premiere, li keqiang, visited poor inland villages. li is the second-ranking leader in the communist party. the reports say he braved cold temperatures and snow to visit the mountainous area. the chinese embassy in tokyo has dismissed a document that says some disputed islands are part of japan. japan controls the senkaku islands in the east china sea. china and taiwan claim them. japanese wire service jiji press says the chinese government issued the document in 1915. the document says the islands are part of ryukyu, an old name for that area that is now

okinawa. the paper mentions the islands's former name. the chinese embassy issued a statement on its website. it rejected suggestions that the document should serve as proof of japan's claim. they have historical and law enforcement grounds for claims of sovereignty. it says bringing up an unsigned document demonstrates a lack of confidence over the issue among japanese. the statement says what it calls tricks won't change the fact that the islands are chinese territory. geothermal power is attracting global attention. in southeast asia, the philippines is taking advantage of the sustainable energy source and its usage rate is the second highest in the world. now it's strengthening its industry by teaming up with counterparts from around the globe.

>> reporter: steam rises and the air smells faintless of rotten eggs. it is the second largest geothermal power plant in the philippines. the philippines scrapped their nuclear power program in the 1980s in order to pursue renewable energy. gee yoe thermal accounts for 22% of the country's energy. that is the second highest rate in the world. the national economy is on the rise as is the demand for power. to meet that growth, the government has the ambitious goal of increasing total geothermal power output by 75% by the year 2030. there are many challenges to achieving that target.

an average size geothermal plant costs $13 million to build. further development also requires new technology for drilling and surveying. but the country is taking steps to bring its goals into reach. manila hosted an international meet williing for countries tha geothermal power. >> it's an exchange of experiences, knowledge as well as technology transfer. >> reporter: the organizers also hosted the tour of geothermal power stations in the philippines. the delegation from kenya visited this facility. the visitors found that japanese technology is widely used in the philippines. a japanese firm constructed this

plant. 33 years later, it is still operating at full capacity. >> we are very impressed because of the standard, the availability rate is over 95% which means that it is available most of the time. we feel that this is an example we hope to emulate. >> reporter: a japanese government official also joined the tour. like the philippines, japan has a high level of volcanic activity. it is the third largest g geothermal reserves in the world. but geothermal makes up less than 3% of the energy mix. the accident at the fukushima nuclear plant is prompting the country to renew its policy on

nuclear power. it is considering ways to promote geothermal power through deregulation, incentives and international cooperation. >> translator: we hope to contribute to other nations in terms of drilling and surveying. high initial costs are a common challenge. we want to cooperate with other countries to ease the burden through measures such as setting up a funding framework. >> reporter: geothermal power generation will play a key role in tackling global warming and countries working toward energy independence. cooperation between measured players will help achieve these goals. nhk world. authorities in israel have allowed something they hadn't allowed in more than five years. they let a shipment of

construction material into gaza. 20 trucks carrying gaza crossed this checkpoint. it was the first shipment of construction material since 2007. israel imposed a strict economic embargo when the palestinian group hamas took control of the territory. residents of gaza have endured restrictions on their travel and movement of medical supplies and other goods. shortages of fuel have caused power outages for up to 18 hours a day. militants in gaza and israeli forces fought for eight days in november before diplomats brokered a cease-fire. but hamas promise they'll they'll continue their armed struggle. some groups are even calling for more radical action. an official at the israeli defense department says they'll continue easing a blockade if the cease fire holds. just as authorities in israel announced the indictment of former foreign minister avigdor lieberman.

he faces charges of fraud and breach of trust. lieberman is accused of trying to promote a diplomat who relayed information to him about his political funding. he resigned two weeks ago after being informed of the charges. he said he would prove he's innocent. lieberman leads a far right party which has formed a coalition with benjamin netanyahu's likud party. lieberman is running in parliamentary elections next month. netanyahu called a snap election, hoping to take on strong support in opinion polls. still those polls show some some supporters have shifted to another far right party. the united nations and arab league envoy to syria says there will be no end to the civil war there if the two sides refuse to talk. our reporter met with president al asad. >> reporter: although the opposition forces do have rights to demand that assad step down,

the key point is how to make it happen. >> brahimi is urging goth -- government leaders to sit down together. he said if neither make concessions, things will only get worse. 330 people have died since the uprising last year. brahimi said more than 100,000 could die next year if the two sides do not negotiate a settlement. government forces have retaliated by attacking opposition positions on the outskirts of the capital and government pilots have carried out more air raids in northern syria. brahimi has presented a peace plan that calls for a transitional government and then general elections. opposition leaders added that assad resigned before they agreed to any talks. the leaders of egypt's central bank warned that foreign reserved hit a critically low level. they say they'll limit

withdrawals of other currencies. egyptians count on tourism for billions of dollars in revenue. tourists have stayed away since the government of former president hosni mubarak collapsed. foreign reserves in november stood at $15 billion. that's less than half the amount the bank held when the uprising began. bank officials say they barely have enough money to import food, fuel, and other commodities. for three months, so they'll limit withdrawals by companies to no more than $30,000 a day. members of president muhammad morsi's government are limiting the monetary fund. they hope to impose loans of $5 million, but first they want them to lower their deficits. they are considering austerity measures which could trigger another wave of protests.

japanese robots that look after the elderly, it sounds like science fiction but it's increasingly science fact and with good reason. japanese society is aging faster than any in the world. nursing facilities are stretched past capacity. against this backdrop, researchers are building new and humane intelligent machines. >> reporter: a new game is being played at this hold people's home south of tokyo. ♪ >> reporter: the residents move their bodies on cue from a robot. the exercise helps the brain and fights aging.

people from the nursing industry interested in the robot came along to watch. >> translator: coming here today and seeing people talking and dancing with them made me realize that robots have become something very commonplace to old people, too. >> reporter: many of the nursing care robots are japanese inventions. they're catching the eye of facilities overseas. in some countries, they recognize the medical equipment. ironically, care giving robots have been slow to catch on in japan. people still expect the functions of caring to be given only by humans. but the situation may be changing. i'm visiting an exhibition for nursing care robots. similar events have been happening across japan. they're tracting people who walk work in social welfare.

these people may have noticed the increasing media report of how a robot can help elderly sufferers and nursing home staff. about 20 people with senile dementia. this baby seal is fitted with sensors. when stroked or talked, to it responds by blinking. 93-year-old woman came to the home about a year ago. she has dementia and was already very forgetful. she kept to herself. at night she couldn't sleep. she sometimes took out her anger on the staff. >> translator: she became obsessed with going back home.

she'd get argumentive saying i have to go and cook the dinner. but the curious thing happened. after caregivers brought in the robots, she began to change. she used to look after her grandchild while the parents, her daughter and her husband, went to work. the robot reawakened such feelings in her. she began treating the seal like her grandchild. little by little, her emotional ups and downs have eased. she gets angry much less often. her night time wanderings all but ceased after she began sleeping with the robot in her arms. this has brought huge relief to the overnight staff. with the robot, she is also

recovering her physical strength. before, she needed assistance to walk even a short way. now she can walk around the facility on her own. the robot helps the home in other ways. >> translator: conversation between people with dementia is usually difficult. but the robot breaks the ice and makes our residents laugh. we find it very useful. around the world, aging and sh rifrgi shrinking populations face many challenges. japan's robots may help ease their rate. nhk world. next stop, hiroshima, the city passed a milestone in 2012,

100 years since the first street car went into operation. our reporter talked to the people that keep the famous street cars on track. >> reporter: the street cars come out of the shed. the city of 25 different types of trollies. they come in all shapes and colors, modern and vintage models. they carry 40 million people a year. these engineers have a job of keeping hero sheiroshima street old and new on the road. there are 60 skilled technicians in the work shop. this man has one of the most important jobs of all. he makes new components to

replace worn out parts. >> translator: we always want to make new components as good as the original ones. >> reporter: on this day, nakahara is fixing equipment that connects the driver's control lever to the brakes. the critical parts is the connecting pin. if there is too much space between the pin and the crank, the brakes won't work properly. >> translator: it's still not working right. we need to replace the pins with new ones. >> reporter: the maintenance crew has to make many of the replacement parts themselves. often the original companies stopped making the components years ago. nakahara gets to work on the

pin, sizing up, honing, and sizing up again. skills acquired from almost 30 years on the job. >> translator: it fits the hole exactly. we work hard to get it right because we know how important this part is for the driver to steer safely. >> reporter: nakahara is also in charge of supervising less experienced colleagues. today he is coaching nita, now in his fourth year. nita is repairing an old wheel. the outer reach of the wheel is worn down. if it's not repaired, there's a risk the car could jump the tracks.

nita uses a grinder to scrape up the metal. he's trying to restore the wheel's original shape. this work is part machinery, part craft. >> translator: you need to shave off another half millimeter. >> reporter: with a few stops to check the shape, nakahara steers him to another perfect fit. >> translator: when it fits just right, you feel great. >> translator: i get the result i'm looking for just by following his instructions. it's amazing. >> translator: we still have many old cars. so it's important to train younger people how to maintain them. >> reporter: a century of the street cars, hero sheem e hiros

wouldn't be the same without the street cars. back at the shop, they make sure that the trollies stay in service. and now here's the weather forecast.

once again, a look at our lead storesies. officials at japan's defense ministry are expected to start equipping self-defense forces with an aircraft that has the functions of a plane and a helicopter. they want to strengthen the force's transport capabilities. ministry sources say the osprey transport aircraft is among those under consideration. u.s. forces deploy the plane in japan's southernmost prefecture this year. ospreys can fly twice as fast as the aging ch-46 transport

helicopter. they can fly four times as far before they need to refuel and they can transport three times the weight. the deployment of the ospreys sparked protests in okinawa and elsewhere because of concerns about its safety record. ministry sources say the officials will carefully consider public opinion and the cost of replacing the planes. japanese peacekeepers in the golan heights are returning home. the first group of 33 members of the self-defense forces arrived at the airport on monday. government officials decided earlier in december to recall the peacekeepers earlier than planned securing their safety had become difficult because of the civil war in syria. defense ministry officials say the remaining 14 members will wrap up their mission by mid-january. japan first sent sdf personnel to the golan heights in 1996 as part of a united nations mission to monitor the cease-fire between syria and israel. members have been transporting

supplies and providing logistic support. a truck rammed into a bus in southwestern pakistan on sunday. police suspect it was an act of sectarian violence. the bus burst into flames, killing at least 19 people. 25 people were hurt and are being treated in the hospital. police in baluchistan province say the truck was loaded with explosives. witnesses say its driver appeared to have targeted the bus. shia muslims on the bus were heading to iran on a pilgrimage. new york-based human rights watch says attacks on minority shias are on the rise in pakistan. it says more than 300 shias have been killed in 2012. venezuelan president hugo chavez suffered complications. from cancer surgery. the vice president suggested that the situation does not allow for optimism.

in a televised address, the vice president said the new complications follow a respiratory infection that surfaced after the surgery he had in december in cuba. mudora appeared on state-run tv with chavez's daughter and says his health continues to be delicate. chavez won his new six-year term in an election in october but there's increasing speculation that the inauguration ceremony in january may have to be postponed. opposition parties are demanding a new presidential election to be held should chavez fail to be sworn in on such a date. such a delay suggests he is not capable of carrying out his duties. we'll be back with more news next hour. have a great day wherever you are. and happy holidays. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

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